


Slipped Up

by Joycee



Series: Hospital 'Verse [6]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Doctors & Physicians, M/M, Medical Procedures, Mistakes, Nurses & Nursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-14 14:14:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10538169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joycee/pseuds/Joycee
Summary: After their weekend off, Doctor Peter Burke and Student Nurse Neal Caffrey confront medical errors at their hospital.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [veerle](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=veerle).



Peter Burke, Elizabeth Mitchell, and Neal Caffrey were enjoying a long weekend at the beach. Originally, Peter and Elizabeth had planned to go. They had decided that they were not going to get married, but they still wanted to maintain their close relationship because it meant so much to them both.

Peter had tried to explain to Elizabeth that he always felt secure and calm with her in contrast to the intense sparks and uncertainties that characterized his affair with Neal. He wished he could have both.

Surprisingly, neither Elizabeth nor Neal completely rejected that idea. Elizabeth suggested that they bring Neal with them to the beach since he had been stressed and ill recently. Peter and Neal gratefully accepted her idea.

Their first night in a room with two queen size beds had featured some hot sex between Peter and Neal that Elizabeth watched in awe. She found it stimulating and discovered it did not upset her. She had to agree that the sex she had with Peter was not as exciting.

Since she had started dating Jack Franklin, an FBI colleague of David Siegel, she thought she might find more a more promising romance anyway. First, she had to resolve her feelings about Peter. After all, they had been engaged to be married not very long ago.

Peter woke up early and went for a run on the beach before the sun got hot. When he returned to the hotel, Elizabeth was having breakfast by the pool. She told him that Neal was still asleep when she left. Peter told her he would join her after he showered and he would bring Neal if he was awake.

In their room, Neal was just climbing out of bed when Peter came in. Since they had fallen asleep after sex, Neal had slept naked. Peter admired his hard muscled physique with strong shoulders, tapered waist, and slim hips ending in long elegant legs.

Neal showed off for him, flexing and stretching and bending to focus attention on his various attributes. Peter suggested lasciviously that Neal join him for a quick shower before breakfast.

When they emerged with wet hair combed and glowing faces, Elizabeth smirked, "Looks like I missed out on some of the action! Breakfast was delicious, but I'm ready for some sunbathing now."

After their meal, the two men met her at the beach and they all waded into the water. Peter swam a bit, but Neal and Elizabeth weren't eager to plunge into the cold water. When they got out, they took a long walk and Elizabeth collected some seashells.

In the afternoon, Elizabeth went shopping and Peter and Neal found a volleyball game to join. They played hard on opposite sides and Neal was gloating because his side won. Peter kicked a little sand at him and teased, "Yeah, yeah. Ready to go in the water now, wuss?"

Neal laughed and raced into the ocean, which felt refreshing in the afternoon heat. He yelled, "Come and get me, tough guy!"

Elizabeth found them late in the afternoon at the pool having a diving competition. She laughed at their antics as they tried to outdo each other and put on a show for her. There were only a few other people there and they seemed to enjoy watching the two handsome men compete.

They dried off and Peter asked, "Where shall we go to dinner tonight?"

Elizabeth answered, "I know a nice little romantic restaurant that is near here, but maybe Neal would prefer to go somewhere with more action."

Neal suggested, "Why don't you two have a romantic dinner together and I'll go out to the casino."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," protested Elizabeth.

"I'm learning to share," Neal grinned.

Peter scrutinized him and asked, "Can you stay out of trouble if we leave you alone, Neal?"

Neal pouted, "Of course I can, Peter. What do you think I did before you came along?"

"I'm not sure. Do you want to tell me?" joked Peter.

"Umm, I think I'd rather remain a man of mystery," Neal hedged.

Elizabeth laughed, "Well, do you want us to come check on you in the casino after we have dinner?"

"Don't be silly. Tonight it's your turn, Elizabeth," Neal demurred generously. "I'll be out late, so don't worry about me. You two have fun together."

Peter and Elizabeth went inside and got ready to go out. Neal walked back to the beach. Peter couldn't hide his concern and Elizabeth sympathized, "It was sweet of Neal to let us go out together, but if you're going to be worried, let's just invite him along."

"No, I want us to have dinner together, but Elizabeth, he thinks we're going to have sex."

Elizabeth gave him a little kiss and guessed, "But we're not, are we?"

Peter admitted, "I'm just not comfortable with that, hon. I'm so sorry. I mean, maybe sometime, I don't know, if you still want to, I mean - but not while Neal goes and gets drunk down the street."

"You don't trust him?' Elizabeth asked.

"Not really," Peter replied honestly, "and I don't want to hurt him either. He tries to hide his feelings."

Elizabeth kissed him lightly and said, "He's lucky to have you, Peter. He needs you."

"I need him too, hon." Peter admitted. He suggested, "Why don't we go have dinner and you can tell me about Jack Franklin."

Neal gave Peter and Elizabeth enough time to be sure they were out of the room. He peeled off his wet bathing suit and stretched out on the bed. He was still recovering from mono and he felt thoroughly depleted after his active day.

Neal did not feel like gambling, but he didn't want to be in the way of Peter and Elizabeth either. He was trying very hard not to think about them having sex because he knew he would feel jealous.

He dressed up and then compromised by going out for some pizza. When he returned to the hotel, he went into the casino and found the blackjack table. After a few winning hands and a drink, Neal could barely stay awake.

He cashed in his chips and slipped the cash into his jacket pocket. Not wanting to go back to the room too soon, Neal wearily made his way into a corner of the spacious lobby and collapsed into a chair. He picked up a magazine and promptly leaned back and closed his eyes.

After dinner, Peter asked Elizabeth sheepishly, "Would you mind stopping in the casino to see how Neal is doing?"

They had enjoyed a good dinner with pleasant conversation. Elizabeth squeezed Peter's hand and agreed, "Okay, if you don't think he will mind you checking up on him."

When they could not find Neal in the casino, they went to see if he was back in the room. "I wonder where he is," Peter worried.

"Well, maybe he wasn't kidding about taking a long walk," speculated Elizabeth.

"I don't feel good about it, hon," Peter confessed. "Why don't you go ahead and get ready for bed and I'll look around for him."

Peter wandered around the hotel grounds and finally walked back through the lobby. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed some movement in a back corner. As he turned, he caught sight of a man stealthily slipping his hand into Neal's jacket pocket.

"Hey! You! Stop that!" Peter shouted and ran over to grab the thief's arm.

Neal awoke in confusion just in time to see Peter's fist connecting with a man's jaw. As the thief reeled away, Peter grabbed the cash from his hand. They watched the startled man run away and then Peter handed Neal his money and said wryly, "I thought you were going to stay out of trouble."

Neal winced and asked, "Hey, where did you learn to punch like that?"

"I used to box," Peter explained proudly.

"Well, thanks for coming to my rescue," Neal said sincerely. "I was so tired; I guess I just fell asleep."

"I'm not surprised," Peter commented. "You're still recovering from your illness, but why didn't you go back to our room?"

Neal looked embarrassed and mumbled, uncomfortably, "Well, I thought you and Elizabeth might want to be alone."

Peter clamped a hand on his shoulder and smiled fondly, "Come on, buddy. The only one I want to be with is you. Let's go to bed."


	2. Chapter 2

When Peter and Neal told Elizabeth what had happened, she laughed, "I guess neither one of you can be trusted not to get into trouble!"

Peter said defensively, "Hey, the guy was stealing Sleeping Beauty's money. What was I supposed to do?"

Elizabeth smiled and directed his attention to the bed where Neal was stretched out, already asleep. "Speaking of Sleeping Beauty, looks like there's not going to be any hot action tonight."

Peter leaned over and kissed her lightly. He replied wistfully, "Guess not."

He got into his pajamas and cuddled Neal against him. He kissed his forehead and whispered, "Goodnight lover."

Neal made an unintelligible noise and curled into Peter's arms. Peter sighed with contentment and Elizabeth giggled and turned over to go to sleep.

In the morning, Neal was refreshed and full of energy. He showered and dressed and ordered room service for the three of them before the other two woke up. When the food arrived, Elizabeth sniffed and exclaimed, "I smell fresh coffee!" Peter added, "And bacon, too."

They spent their morning relaxing at the beach and the pool before packing up to return home. Just as they were putting their luggage into their car, a man ran out into the street. An oncoming car screeched and swerved, but couldn't avoid hitting him.

Elizabeth screamed and Peter and Neal ran to the victim to see if they could assist. The man was writhing in pain and clutching his leg, which appeared to be broken. He had a dark purplish bruise on his face. Neal gasped, "You!" 

He turned to Peter who confirmed, "This is the guy that tried to steal your money last night. That bruise is from where I hit him."

The police arrived and took their statements as witnesses to the accident, but Peter and Neal did not mention their encounter from the night before. An ambulance arrived and took the hapless victim away.

As they started their drive home, Peter asked, "Neal, did you know that man?"

Neal hesitated and confessed, "I think I saw him in the casino last night. I guess he saw me slip my winnings into my pocket as I was leaving. I was a pretty easy target, sleeping in the lobby like that. If you hadn't come along, he would probably have gotten away with it."

Elizabeth mused, "I wonder why he ran out into the street. He didn't even look first."

"And he got hit," Peter concluded. "He was lucky he wasn't hurt any worse."

They continued to chat for awhile until Elizabeth looked into the back seat at Neal and teased Peter, "Aw, your boy has fallen asleep again. He looks so sweet. Peter, are you sure he's going to be all right? This illness really seems to have gotten him down."

Peter worried, "I know. I just hope I can convince him to take it easy for another week before he tries to come back to work."

"Won't you have to sign off on his case for him to come back?" Elizabeth checked.

"No," sighed Peter. "Not me. Dr. Hughes is supervising his case. Neal can be so convincing. I'm afraid he'll be so eager to get back that he'll push himself too hard."

"Don't worry," she assured. "Dr. Hughes and Ms. Berrigan will listen to you if you don't think he's ready."

Peter dropped Elizabeth off at her place first and he helped her carry her suitcase into her apartment. When he returned to the car, Neal had moved up to the front seat and was wide awake.

Peter asked solicitously, "Feeling okay, buddy?"

Neal smirked, "Yes, Mom. I'm fine. I think I was just a little tired from the swimming this morning."

After they got home and unpacked their things, Neal fixed some pasta and salad for dinner. Afterwards, Peter got up and stretched and announced that he needed to go to the hospital to make rounds and get caught up on his patients. He reminded Neal, "As Chief Resident of the Oncology service, I really need to be up to speed in the morning."

Neal pouted, "I wish I could go with you. I'm so close to finishing my nursing program and qualifying to take the Board exam. I hope this stupid illness isn't going to interfere."

Peter put his arms around him and gave him a little kiss. He reassured, "I'm sure that's not going to happen. You'll be able to catch up, but your health is the most important thing right now. You know that."

"Yeah, I guess," Neal sighed tiredly. "I'm just ready to be well and get back to my life again."

"I know you are," Peter acknowledged, "but I think you were overdoing it before and that's why you got sick. A little moderation will be good for you."

"Look who's talking," protested Neal. "You're the one who is going into work tonight."

Neal cleaned the kitchen and got ready for bed. Then he got out his books and notes to study for his exams. He hoped Peter wouldn't be too late coming home.

Just as he got comfortable, his friend Mozzie knocked on the door and opened it, calling, "Neal? Are you home?"

"Mozz!" Neal greeted him enthusiastically. "It's good to see you. You can catch me up on all the hospital gossip. Peter had to go in and make rounds tonight."

Mozzie grinned, "Yeah, I know. I saw him there. He thought maybe you'd appreciate a little company. Got any good wine we could share?"

Neal smiled, "Well, I'm really not supposed to drink right now, but I don't think one glass of good wine with my friend will hurt anything."

They opened a bottle of French Beaujolais and poured a couple of glasses. As Mozzie gossiped about their colleagues at the hospital, they drank another glass. By the time he got up to leave, they had nearly finished the bottle.

Neal giggled, "Oh, I guess I had more than one glass. I'm a little drunk. Oh well, it will help me sleep me tonight."

Soon after Mozzie said goodnight and left, Peter came in to find Neal staring at his books. He gave Neal a kiss and drew back, noticing the wine bottle and empty glasses on the table. He admonished, "Neal, were you drinking wine with Haversham?"

Neal gave him a sheepish smile and hiccupped. He giggled, "Um, yup, I can't deny it."

"Oh, Neal, your liver can't tolerate alcohol right now," complained Peter. "You know that."

"Mmmhmm," Neal agreed amiably as he pressed himself up against Peter. "Wanna come to bed with me?"

Peter sighed, "Of course I do, you drunken fool. Come on."

Neal was extravagantly affectionate and Peter allowed himself to relax. He laughed as Neal clumsily tried to undress him. "Hey, hey, I can get it."

He pushed Neal onto the bed and climbed on top of him. Neal squealed with delight and sloppily licked Peter's face. Peter easily flipped him over as he reached to get some lube and a condom from the bedside table. He used one hand to pin Neal's hands up over his head and began to apply the lube with his other hand. Peter bit Neal's neck as he gently prepared him.

Neal was completely relaxed and urged him, "Come on, I'm ready. Fuck me now."

Peter plunged in and Neal yelped and then began to rock back against Peter's hard cock. They fucked energetically until both were sweating and grunting. Peter finally exploded into orgasm. He quickly released Neal's hand's and rolled him over onto his side so he could grip Neal's quivering cock and bring him off, too.

Neal moaned, "Ooh, I love you so much."

Peter turned him over so they were facing each other and gave him a long sweet kiss. He teased, "I'm glad you're happy, my little slut."

Neal kissed him again and winked, "You know I am, but only for you, Peter."

Peter smiled happily and stroked his lover until they both fell asleep.

In the morning Neal groaned and hid his head in his pillow. Peter taunted, "A little too much wine to drink last night?"

In a minute, Peter got up and retrieved some Advil and a bottle of water for Neal. He instructed sympathetically, "Here, take these and drink some water. Go back to sleep and you'll feel better later. I've got to get dressed and go to work."

Neal swallowed the pills and begged pitifully, "Couldn't you just hold me a little longer?"

Peter climbed back into bed and gathered him up. He rubbed his chin against Neal's soft hair and cooed, "Go back to sleep, baby."

A few minutes later, Neal's breathing evened out and Peter quietly slipped out of bed to shower and get ready for work. He glanced at his watch and realized he needed to hurry so he skipped breakfast. He lightly placed a last kiss on his sleeping lover's cheek and left the apartment.


	3. Chapter 3

At the hospital, Peter was urgently summoned to the bed of a patient in distress as soon as he got there. He took in the scene quickly with an expert eye and began demanding answers, "What is the patient's diagnosis? Tell me her vital signs. What meds is she on? How long has she been in distress?"

He quickly examined the patient and reviewed her medical record. When he came to the medication sheet, he stopped and frowned. He questioned, "Who gave this dose of heart medication to the patient?"

The nurse on duty was Lauren Cruz and she replied, "I believe Rebecca Lowe gave it to her at the end of the last shift."

"Well, it looks like she administered the wrong dose," Peter noted with alarm. "We need to administer the antidote right away!"

Lauren pressed the nurse call button on the patient's bed to contact Sara Ellis at the Nurses Station. Sara was the head nurse for the unit. She responded quickly and brought the antidote to Peter. She asked, "What happened, Dr. Burke?"

Peter calmly drew up the drug and injected it into the patient's IV line. The nurses reassured their patient and monitored her closely for response to the medication. In a few minutes, the patient began to calm down and breathe easier. Her vital signs returned to normal and she relaxed.

Peter rechecked the patient's name and then addressed her, "Amy, I'm Dr. Burke. I'm afraid you were accidentally given the wrong dose of medication this morning and that's what caused your symptoms. I just administered the antidote which seems to be relieving your symptoms. We are going to monitor you very closely for the next few hours to make sure you are okay."

Amy replied, "Thank you, Doctor. I told that nurse that it didn't look like the pill I usually take, but she said the pharmacy uses different brands."

"Well, yes, that's true," conceded Peter, "but she should have double checked when you called it to her attention. I'll have a talk with her the next time she comes in to work."

"I don't think I want her to take care of me anymore," protested Amy.

Peter smiled, "That's fine. I'm sure Ms. Ellis can arrange the schedule so that Rebecca is not assigned to you."

As they walked into the hall, Sara complained to Peter, "We miss Neal. He would be perfect for this patient. We've been so short handed since he has been out sick. Maybe that's why Rebecca made the mistake."

Peter frowned, "Sara, that was a very serious mistake. It could have killed that patient."

Sara nodded, "I know. Do you want me to suspend Rebecca?"

"Ah, no, I don't think that will be necessary," Peter concluded. "I'll talk to her, but we need to fill out an Incident Report for Dr. Hughes and Vincent Adler to review. They'll make the final decision."

Sara asked, "Dr. Burke, how long do you think it will be before Neal can come back to work?"

Peter sighed, "Oh well, he would be here today if it were up to him. He's supposed to stay out another week, but I'll check with Dr. Hughes. To tell you the truth, I miss him, too."

Peter made his rounds and performed a minor procedure. When he looked at his watch, he realized that it was lunch time. In the cafeteria, he found Elizabeth and Haversham sitting together at a table. He greeted them, "You two look thick as thick as thieves. What are you plotting now?"

Mozzie grinned, "Well, we're certainly not going to tell _you_ , are we?"

The little man winked at Elizabeth and then got up and bustled away. She laughed and turned her attention to Peter. "I don't know how this hospital could keep running without that man. He is so resourceful."

"Oh? What's the problem?" inquired Peter. "Has something come up?"

"It's just something to do do with the laundry system, but Mozz has figured it out," Elizabeth explained. "He saves this hospital so much money."

"I hope Adler appreciates him," remarked Peter. "Not many people around here even know what he does."

"Well, he likes it that way, really," smiled Elizabeth. "He mostly tries to stay out of Vincent's way. How is your day going, Peter?"

"It got off to kind of a scary start," Peter told her. "A medication error made one of our patients very sick."

"Oh no!" exclaimed Elizabeth. "Were you able to take care of the problem?"

Peter frowned, "In this case, yes. I noticed the mistake in the medical record and I was able to give her an antidote, but it worries me. We might not have been so lucky."

Elizabeth reassured, "I'm sure it's rare. You'll be sure an Incident Report is filed, won't you?"

Peter nodded, "Yeah, I will. Sara told me they are short handed without Neal and she thinks that could have contributed to the mistake. He can't wait to come back to work. I'm thinking maybe we should let him."

"Well, Neal's health is important, too," Elizabeth reminded, "but he does seem to be feeling much better. Maybe you should talk to Dr. Hughes and Ms. Berrigan about it."

Peter stood up and replied, "I will, but I've got to get back upstairs now. I have a pile of medical records to review."

 

Neal was in the middle of a practice test for his Board exams when his landlady and benefactor June Ellington called him to tell him there was a young lady downstairs asking for him. He took a quick look in the mirror to be sure his hair wasn't messed up and bounced down the stairs. He was surprised to find Rebecca Lowe standing there.

"Hey, how's it going, Rebecca?" Neal asked tentatively.

The pretty redhead smiled, "I'm not Rebecca. I'm her sister Rachel."

"Oh yes, of course, you're twins," Neal realized. "Well, hi Rachel. What's going on?"

"Could I come in, Neal. I need someone to talk to," Rachel requested.

"Oh, uh, sure," Neal agreed. He led her upstairs and offered her a cup of coffee. "I'm surprised to see you here. How did you know I live here?"

Rachel explained, "David Siegel told me. I've gone out with him and Sara a few times since that night we all went to dinner together."

"Oh, well, how can I help you?" Neal inquired. "As you can see, I'm studying for my Boards."

"I just took mine last year," Rachel informed him. "I remember how nervous I was."

"Yes, well," Neal paused, wondering why the young nurse was there.

Rachel looked uncomfortable and asked, "You work with my sister, don't you?"

Neal answered, "Yeah, she works on the oncology floor most of the time. Why?"

"Does she seem okay to you? I mean, have you noticed anything different about her?" Rachel pursued.

"No, not that I can think of," Neal replied honestly. "Why? What's going on? Is she sick or something?"

"No, no, it's not that. She just doesn't seem to be herself lately. I'm worried about her," Rachel explained. "Do you know what I mean?"

"Actually, I really don't, Rachel," Neal admitted. "I don't know Rebecca very well."

Rachel got up and wandered around the kitchen. She changed the subject abruptly, asking, "Does Dr. Burke live here with you?"

Neal squirmed and hedged, "Well, he stays here sometimes. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Rachel shrugged. "I guess I'd better go. Sorry I interrupted your studies."

Neal got up and held the door for her. "That's okay. I'm afraid I wasn't much help, though."

"It's okay. Bye," she said as she started down the stairs. Neal echoed, "Bye."

He thought, _"Well, that was really strange. I wonder why she came to see me?"_

He stretched and went back to his computer. He was concerned about missing so much clinical work while was he was ill. He was trying to take advantage of the extra study time, but he really wanted to return to work at the hospital. He decided he would talk to Dr. Hughes about it, but he would have to convince Peter first.

When Peter came in, the apartment was filled with the delicious aroma of roasted lamb. He looked on the stove and found brussel sprouts and a curried rice dish. Neal was standing there watching him with a wide grin on his face. He produced a wine glass with a flourish and asked, "White or rose? What's you're pleasure, sir?"

Peter suppressed a smile and asked, "What? No candlelight atmosphere?"

Neal quickly dimmed the light and lit a candle. He asked solicitousy, "Better?"

Peter sighed, "Neal, it's so sweet of you to go to all this trouble, but you really didn't have to. I talked to Reese Hughes and Diana Berrigan today and they agreed you can come back to work."

Neal threw his arms around him and exclaimed, "Oh, Peter, thank you! I wasn't even going to bring it up until dessert."


	4. Chapter 4

Neal was excited to be back in his uniform on the Oncology floor again and everyone was glad to see him. Even though he was still a student, he had become part of the close knit team that cared for the hospital's cancer patients. His cheerful personality, sincere attitude, and considerable skill were appreciated by patients and staff alike. In addition, their chief resident Peter Burke was at his best when Neal was near by.

Ms. Diana Berrigan, Neal's instructor, assigned him to four patients. Amy Sawyer and Jessica Breslin were both young women who had ovarian cancer. Luke Donovan was a fifty four year old attorney who had colon cancer and Allison Sullivan was an eight year old girl with leukemia. 

Neal's girlfriend Kate had died of the disease and that was what had inspired him to study nursing so he had a special interest in leukemia cases. Although they were emotionally challenging for him, he was particularly adept in nursing them. Children were easily charmed by Neal and he enjoyed helping them to feel better any way he could, from making origami or washcloth animals to reading and singing to them.

Sara Ellis, the head nurse on the unit, warned Neal, "This little girl is going to break your heart, Neal. Her mother is dead and her father is having trouble keeping his job because of all the time he has to take off. Now he is afraid they are going to lose their home because the high medical bills are making it harder for him to keep up with the mortgage payments. I'm afraid some of his anxiety has spilled over to Allison and she is a very solemn child."

Neal smiled sympathetically, "Well, let's see if I can cheer her up a little bit. I see from her medical record that she hasn't responded well to treatment yet. Is Dr. Fowler planning to try something else?"

Dr. Garret Fowler had just walked up to the Nurses Station. He growled, "Caffrey, will you please let me my manage my patients' medical regimens and stick to your nursing? I know you believe you are an expert, but I have many years of expert training in Oncology. I know what I am doing."

Neal replied sullenly, "I know you do, sir, but it never hurts to consider other opinions."

Sara shot him a warning glance and Neal headed down the hall to see Allison. He immediately liked the serious little girl who was drawing a picture on the back of a medical form when he came in. He leaned over to look at it and saw that the picture was of a house. He greeted her, "Hi, Allison. I'm Nurse Neal and I'm going to take care of you today. That's a nice picture you're drawing. Would you like to tell me about it?"

The small brown eyed and brown haired child looked tiny in her hospital gown. She replied, "You don't have time. You're supposed to take my pulse and my temperature and give me my medicines."

Neal told her, "Oh, I may have a little more time than your other nurses do because I'm really still a student. I don't have to take care of as many patients as they do."

Allison examined him and asked suspiciously, "Are you sure you know what you're doing? I have leukemia and I'm very sick."

Neal chuckled, "I do know. I had a girlfriend who had leukemia and I took care of her, too."

His little patient asked sincerely, "Did she get well or did she die?"

Neal quickly decided this was not a time to be honest. He reassured, "Of course she did."

"Then why isn't she still your girlfriend?" Allison asked curiously.

Neal hesitated a moment and then explained, "Oh well, you know, sometimes people don't always stay together. Anyway, I took care of another little girl named Savannah in this very bed not long ago and she got well and went home."

"That's good," she said. "My mom died so I just have my Daddy and he needs me. I have to get well so I can go home with him. He's lonely without me."

"Is this the house you live in with your Daddy?" asked Neal, directing her attention to her drawing. "It looks nice."

"It is, but we might not be able to keep it because my hospital bills cost so much," Allison explained, "but it doesn't matter as long as we can be together."

Neal felt sorry that such a young girl was weighed down by such serious problems. He grabbed a washcloth and twisted it into a rabbit puppet. He made it hop over to her and said in a high voice, "Well, I want you to concentrate on getting well, Allison. I need you to think happy thoughts. Can you do that for me?"

The child giggled, "I think so. I'll try."

Neal kept up some cheerful chatter as he recorded her vital signs and checked her IV. He promised to come back soon to help with a bath and get her up so he could change her sheets.

When he got back to the Nurses Station, Rebecca Lowe was standing there looking at him impatiently. She pouted, "You're already behind, Neal. I went ahead and got your meds ready to give. Jessica Breslin is downstairs in X-ray so you'll have to wait to give hers, but Amy Sawyer is down the hall in the waiting room visiting with her family so you can take hers to her."

Neal protested, "Rebecca, I like to prepare the meds for my patients myself. What about Mr. Donovan? Did you prepare his meds, too?"

Rebecca responded impatiently, "I already gave him his, but he is very uncomfortable and he needs colostomy care. As soon as you give Amy her meds, you need to get in there and take care of him."

Neal realized that he had taken a lot of time with Allison and he felt pressured, so he took the medicine cup from Rebecca, got a bottle of water and went to find his patient. He found her in intense conversation with her family and he could see they had been crying. He approached them tentatively and held out the medicine cup, saying, "Hi, I'm Nurse Caffrey. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need you to take your meds. I brought you some water to take them with."

The patient took them from him and swallowed them. She smiled gratefully, "Thanks for coming to find me."

"Sure, I'll see you when you get back in your room, okay?" confirmed Neal.

He hurried back to Mr. Donovan, who had put on his Nurse call light. The man urged him to please empty his colostomy bag right away. Neal went to get supplies and stopped to call Ms. Berrigan to come and help him since he had only done the procedure once before.

They took their time and when they finished, Neal gave the patient his bath. Neal found he liked the handsome lawyer once he settled down and got comfortable. When he finished, he discovered that his other patient had returned from X-ray, so took her meds to her.

He introduced himself, "I'm Neal Caffrey, a student nurse, and I'll be taking care of you today."

The woman responded, "Hi Neal, I'm Amy Sawyer. I was worried that Rebecca would be assigned to take care of me again."

Neal paled and stammered, "Wait, you're Amy Sawyer? I thought you were Jessica Breslin. I mean, um, oh wait, I'll be right back."

He panicked as he realized he had given Amy's meds to Jessica. He couldn't believe that he hadn't checked the patient's ID first. He knew he should immediately tell Sara Ellis and Diana Berrigan, but his first reflex was to call Peter. When Peter didn't answer, Neal quickly left a message, "Peter, it's Neal. Could you come meet me at the Nurses Station right away please? It's really important."

Rebecca overheard him and grouched, "What's so urgent, Neal? I told you, you're behind already this morning. Did you give Amy Sawyer her meds yet?"

Neal colored and he asked sharply, "Do you even know who Amy Sawyer is?"

"Of course, I do," Rebecca replied peremptorily, "She just got back from X-ray. She's in her room."

Neal stuttered, "B-but y-you told me Amy was in the waiting room with her family."

"No, silly, that's Jessica Breslin with her family," Rebecca corrected. "Neal, you didn't give the meds to the wrong patient, did you?"

Neal had to sit down. He felt ike his world was closing in on him. He protested weakly, "Rebecca, you told me it was Amy that was in the waiting room and Jessica that went to x-ray. Oh, never mind."

He knew it was his fault anyway for not checking the patient's ID. A terrible thought occurred to him as he realized that Rebecca had prepared the medications, so he really didn't even know what he had given to Jessica. He felt sick at his error.

Head Nurse Sara Ellis walked up at the same time Dr. Peter Burke did. Sara inquired, "What's going on here? You two should be busy with your patients."

Rebecca replied flippantly, "Ask your student nurse. He's been behind all morning and now he thinks he gave the wrong meds to a patient."

As she walked off, Peter worried, "Neal? Is this what you called me about?"

Neal looked up at Peter's concerned face and suppressed the urge to cry. Sara pressed, "Neal, please, you need to tell us what happened."

He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. He confessed, "I'm afraid that I may have given the medication that was intended for Amy Sawyer to Jessica Breslin. I hadn't met them yet and they weren't in their room and I got them mixed up."

"You think you did? We need to know for sure," Sara demanded. "Didn't you check your patient's ID band before giving her medication? What are the medications that were involved?"

Neal blushed, "Um, I don't exactly know. Rebecca prepared them and gave them to me to deliver. I know I should have done it myself, but I spent a lot of time with Allison Sullivan and I was running late and Luke Donovan was waiting for me to empty his colostomy bag."

"So,you gave medications that you didn't know anything about to a patient you didn't bother to identify," Sara concluded incredulously. "Is that what happened, Neal?"

"I think maybe, yes," Neal said barely audibly. "I think that's what happened."

Peter looked disgusted and said curtly, "I'm going to check on Ms. Breslin and Ms. Sawyer. Sara, please call Dr. Hughes and make sure an Incident Report is completed."

Neal watched in despair as Peter stalked down the hall toward his patients' room. He produced the medication that he had not given to Amy when when he discovered he had his patients confused and said timidly, "Um, I think this is Jessica Breslin's medication. I didn't give it to Amy Sawyer.."

Sara despaired, "Neal didn't you even study your patients' medical records this morning to find out what meds they were taking?"

Neal shook his head sadly, "I was starting to, but then you told me about Allison and Dr. Fowler started ragging on me and, well, I didn't finish reading them."

Sara said sternly, "Neal, go out and sit in the waiting room by the elevators. I have to call Ms. Berrigan plus I need to assign another nurse to your patients. I'm afraid we are going to be very short staffed now."

Neal asked hopefully, "Couldn't I stay here at the desk and read my patient's' records?"

Sara shook her head and replied curtly, "I'm afraid they are no longer your patients. Now go sit in the waiting room like I asked you to."

The dejected student slowly walked down the hall toward the elevators. As he passed his patients' room, he looked in to see Peter gravely talking with the two women. He did not look up as Neal walked by.

Finally Diana Berrigan collected Neal from the waiting room and accompanied him to Dr. Hughes' office. She began by saying, "Neal, you must realize how serious this is. Your irresponsible unprofessional behavior this morning may have endangered a patient."

Neal nodded and volunteered quietly, "I know. I'm so sorry. Is she all right?"

Dr. Hughes shook his head and pronounced, "We'll see. I am very disappointed, Nurse Caffrey. I'm afraid I have to suspend you until we can discuss this matter with Vincent Adler, the hospital administrator. We'll notify you when we have decided what we are going to do."

Neal looked stricken. He cried, "But Dr. Hughes, I can come back, can't I? You are not going to expel me, are you? I'm about to graduate."

Hughes sighed, "I can't tell you that right now. We will take into consideration that you have been ill recently and we may have allowed you to return to duty too soon."

Neal begged, "Please give me another a chance. I know I made a terrible mistake, but...."

Diana interrupted, "That's enough. Go home, Neal. We'll be in touch."


	5. Chapter 5

Peter was so upset with Neal that he couldn't even think about him. He discussed the situation with the two patients that were involved to explain as calmly as he could what happened. His main concern was for Jennifer Breslin who had been given the wrong meds. 

It turned out that, since the ladies both had the same diagnosis, they were taking the same medication. However, Amy Sawyer was taking much a higher dose than Jennifer. The excessive medication was making Jennifer feel nauseous so Peter prescribed an antiemetic for her. She was fairly calm about the situation, explaining to Peter that Neal didn't know her and she was in the waiting room with her family when he gave her the meds.

Peter said tensely, "That is no excuse, Jennifer. Neal knows that he should have checked your ID band first. That's very basic procedure. He has no excuse."

Amy was more upset, pointing out, "Dr. Burke, it's not just Neal. Remember Rebecca gave me the wrong medication yesterday. I'm not feeling very safe in this hospital."

Peter replied, "I can understand that, but I assure you it is very unusual for us to have medication errors like these. I'm so sorry that you were involved in both incidents."

He made sure she was finally given her medication in the correct dose and then he assured her, "Our head nurse Sara Ellis is going to provide care for you personally. I promise you will be in good hands."

Peter planned to return to visit the two ladies later to check on them again. He went about his duties mechanically after that. He heard that Neal had been suspended and he felt sick about it, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to Neal yet. Dr. Hughes had even asked Peter if he thought they had allowed Neal to come back to work too soon, but Peter didn't think that explained Neal's grave error.

He thought about calling Elizabeth or even Haversham, but he decided not to. Dr. Fowler made a remark about Caffrey being arrogant and always thinking he knew so much. Peter's face clouded, he bit his lip and his fists clenched, but he did not reply.

When Peter went to see Allison Sullivan, he overheard her arguing with Rebecca. She whined, "But where is Nurse Neal? He's supposed to be taking care of me today; not you."

Rebecca replied curtly, "Never mind that. I'm your nurse now. He's just a student anyway."

Peter interrupted, "That will be enough, Nurse Lowe. I need to examine Allison now."

Allison persisted, "Dr. Burke, do you know where Nurse Caffrey is? Look, he made this rabbit puppet for me. I drew this for him."

The child held up a drawing she had made of a dark haired smiling male nurse. Peter swallowed hard and answered, "Neal had to go home unexpectedly. I'm sorry, but Nurse Rebecca will take care of you."

Allison frowned, "I don't like her. Neal was so nice. I wish he had at least told me goodbye."

Peter relented, "I'm sure he would have liked to, honey. It was an emergency so he didn't have time."

"Oh, did he get sick?" the little girl persisted. "He told me about how he took care of his girlfriend when she had leukemia like me.

Peter was outraged. He burst out, "Neal told you that his girlfriend died of leukemia?"

"N-no," Allison protested and she started to cry. "I asked him if she died and he said no. He said sometimes things just don't work out when I asked him why she wasn't still his girlfriend. Did he lie to me, Dr. Burke?"

Peter didn't know what to say so he just patted her shoulder and went to go find Sara. He asked her if she could assume care of Allison, too, since she needed special attention.

Sara sighed, "Neal's not being here is causing all kinds of problems, but I'll go talk with Allison. Rebecca can take over Luke Donovan's care. His colostomy bag needs attention again. You know, Peter, we each already had a full patient load of our own."

Peter apologized, "I know. I'm sorry. I'm sure Neal is beside himself, but Sara, he had to be suspended."

Late in the afternoon, Peter saw FBI Agent David Siegel at the desk. He had been dating Sara and he was waiting for her to get off. He greeted Peter warmly, "Hey, Dr. Burke. How's it going? You're working my girl too hard. She says she has to stay late tonight."

"Hi David," Peter responded grimly. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Did she tell you what happened with Neal this morning?"

"No, we haven't had a chance to talk yet," David admitted. "You look upset. Do you have a few minutes to get a cup of coffee with me downstairs?"

"Sure, why not?" Peter shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I need someone to talk to."

When the two of them were settled with their coffees, Peter asked, "How are you, Dave? Still cancer free, I hope."

David smiled gently, "Yes, Peter. I consider myself a cure, but that's not what you wanted to talk about."

Peter shook his head, "Oh Dave, Neal made a terrible mistake giving medications this morning. This was his first day back after being out with mono for a couple of weeks. Dr. Hughes suspended him from the nursing program."

"Oh," David groaned. "Was a patient injured by his mistake? Is that it?"

"No, not badly anyway," Peter explained, "but it was an extremely careless error that' is hard to excuse. Apparently he was overwhelmed on his first day back."

David said sympathetically, "I know Neal is very serious about his nursing career. He is not a careless person. Could there be more to the story than you know?"

"I don't know," Peter confessed. "I haven't talked with him. I was so upset. I've just been taking care of my patients and trying not to think about it. His absence is the reason Sara is running late this evening. Neal's absence has put a strain on everyone."

"Well, I imagine Neal is pretty upset, too. Don't you?" David pressed.

"Yeah, but he should be," snapped Peter. He sighed, "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm just not ready to talk to him yet. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he looked chagrined. "That's him now. I'm not going to answer. I just can't."

David's phone vibrated his pocket, too. He looked at the text and apologized, "I'm sorry, but Sara's ready to go now. I hope things work out okay for you. And for Neal, too."

 

Neal put down his phone without leaving a message. He buried his head in his arms and lightly tapped his head against the table. He felt almost numb. He was filled with intense and conflicting emotions. He felt guilty and worried whether his error had actually harmed a patient. He was filled with insecurity and self recriminations. He was frustrated and angry. He felt misunderstood, yet he couldn't really make excuses. 

He was fearful that his suspension would turn into expulsion. Without the nursing career that had made his life feel meaningful again after Kate's death, he didn't know what he would do. He had worked so hard to learn and to do a good job and he loved going to work in the hospital. He was all set to graduate and take his boards to become a Registered Nurse.

On top of everything else, Neal was terrified that he might lose Peter. He couldn't forget the cold way that Peter had refused to look at him and instead just stalked away. Now he wasn't answering Neal's phone calls. Neal wasn't sure how he could survive the end of his relationship as well as his career.

There was a knock at the door and Neal tiredly went to answer the door. When he saw who it was, he tried to close the door. He said firmly, "I don't want talk to you, Rebecca."

"Not Rebecca, it's Rachel," his visitor insisted. "Open the door, Neal. I heard what happened this morning."

"Did your sister tell you? Did she send you here?" Neal demanded. "I don't want to talk to either one of you. Leave me alone."

"I told you there was something wrong with Rebecca. Why won't you listen to me?" pleaded Rachel.

Neal continued to stand in the doorway, blocking her from entering. He replied sullenly, "I don't care. Please, just go away."

He firmly closed the door and then he heard a yelp and the sound of Rachel falling down stairs. He yanked the door back open and ran down to see if she was all right. The girl stared at him accusingly, but she got up and straightened herself out. She left without saying another word.

Neal saw June watching and sighed, "It looks like she's okay. She fell, June. I didn't have anything to do with it."

June looked at him curiously and affirmed, "I didn't think you did. Is something the matter, Neal?"

He turned away to start back upstairs, replying, "Yes, June. Something is wrong, but I just can't talk about it right now.'

"Well, I'm here if you need me, dear," June reminded. "Will Peter be home soon?"

Neal sighed, "I have no idea." He heard June murmur, "Oh dear."

When he got upstairs, Neal went over the letter he had been composing on his computer to try to explain everything that had happened that morning in detail. He frowned in frustration and deleted the file. Suddenly he felt overwhelmed with exhaustion and all he wanted to do was sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Peter finally went home to his own apartment without talking to anyone else. For the first time, he was wondering if it had been unwise to get so involved with Neal. Maybe having his professional and personal lives so closely entwined wasn't a good idea. Neal was always getting into trouble of some kind.

After a restless night, he dressed for work, feeling confused and depressed. He got to the hospital early so he decided to go find Elizabeth. She agreed to have a cup of coffee with him. As soon as they sat down, Elizabeth asked sympathetically, "How's Neal?"

Peter mumbled, "I don't really know. I haven't seen him."

Elizabeth gasped, "Peter! Why not? Neal must be going out of his mind! Don't you have any sympathy for him?"

"I don't know," Peter admitted. "I don't see how he could have been so irresponsible. If he wasn't well enough to handle a full workload, he should have let someone know. He could have killed somebody by giving the wrong medication. As Chief Resident, I'm responsible for the care of patients on the Oncology Service. Now we have had two Medical Error Incidents in two days and the same patient was affected by both of them."

Elizabeth frowned, "Two incidents? But Neal was only involved in one of them, wasn't he?"

Peter agreed begrudgingly, "Well, yes. He didn't have anything to do with the one the day before. That was Rebecca Lowe."

"Hmm, she's the one with the twin sister who works on the pediatric floor. You know, they haven't been working here long, but I believe we've had problems with both of them," Elizabeth mused.

"Really?" Peter inquired. "What kind of problems? I didn't know that."

"I'll have to check, but hon, I think you should call Neal and at least give him a chance to explain what happened," Elizabeth admonished. "I feel sorry for him."

"I will," Peter sighed, "but not right now. I have to get back up on the floor. My patients have to come first. I'm in charge of everyone there; not just Neal."

"Well, really, Dr. Hughes is in charge," Elizabeth noted. "Why don't you let him handle it?"

Peter pointed out, "He is the one who suspended Neal and he'll be the one to decide whether he can come back."

Elizabeth vowed, "Well I'm going to put in a good word for Neal, and you should too, Peter."

He frowned, "I'll think about it. I really have to go to work now. I have patients to take care of."

Elizabeth worried, "Neal must feel so alone right now. You know Haversham is out of town for a few days, so Neal doesn't even have his best friend to help him."

Peter paused for a moment and then said grudgingly, "Oh, I didn't realize that. Well, maybe I'll check on him later when I have time."

 

Neal woke up early and groaned when he realized that Peter was not there with him and remembered everything that had happened. He felt terrible. He had a sore throat and fever and chills and he ached all over. He still felt as tired as he had the night before. He climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom. He got some Advil, a bottle of water, and another blanket and sank back into bed. All he wanted to do was go back to sleep.

The phone woke him up a couple of hours later and he groggily answered it. Elizabeth Mitchell greeted him, "Neal? Are you okay? You sound terrible."

"Oh, Elizabeth, hi," Neal replied wearily. "Yeah, I'm okay. I guess you know I got suspended from my nursing program yesterday because I made a terrible mistake."

"I heard," Elizabeth confirmed. "Have you talked to Peter about it?"

Neal didn't want Elizabeth to know that Peter hadn't spent the night with him, so he lied, "Oh yes, he understands. He's already gone to work."

Elizabeth answered skeptically, "Oh yeah? Neal what's really going on? "

"Well, I'm depressed and I don't feel very good, but I'll be okay, I guess," Neal offered weakly.

"Mmmhmm, well, okay," Elizabeth conceded. "You take care of yourself."

She immediately got her purse and told her boss Vincent Adler that she had to go out for a while.

When Elizabeth showed up at Neal's door, she marched inside as soon as he cracked the door open. She took one look at Neal's sweaty disheveled appearance and declared, "Neal, you look awful. You're sick again, aren't you? Why did you lie to me on the phone? I know Peter hasn't spoken to you since yesterday."

Neal's shoulders slumped as he confessed, "Yes, I'm sick, but mostly I'm ashamed. I've lost Peter and my career in nursing because I was careless."

"That's not like you, Neal," Elizabeth insisted. "I've brought you some cronuts and I'll make some coffee. Why don't you wash up and get dressed in something comfortable and then you can tell me all about it. I'm worried about you."

Neal pulled out his computer and restored the file he had deleted the night before with his account of the incident. He sighed, "Here, read this while I clean up and get dressed."

When Neal emerged from the bathroom looking a little better, he said, "Thank you, Elizabeth. It's nice to know somebody cares. I'm sorry I lied to you. I guess Peter spent the night with you last night, huh?"

"No, he did not," Elizabeth corrected. "Neal, from reading this, it doesn't seem like this was entirely your fault. Rebecca prepared the medications and then gave you wrong information about your patients."

"Yeah, she did," he affirmed, "but it was still my fault. I should never have given meds I didn't prepare myself. I didn't even know what they were. Worst of all, I gave them to a patient I didn't know without even checking her wristband."

"Yes, that was wrong, but you were relying on somebody you thought you could trust," Elizabeth reminded. "You were suspended, but once Dr. Hughes and Ms. Berrigan understand the circumstances, I bet they'll reinstate you."

Neal nodded, "Well, maybe. I'm not sure Peter will forgive me, though. He looked so disgusted with me and he won't even talk to me now."

Elizabeth countered, "Oh, I think he was just disappointed. You know he feels responsible for all of the Oncology patients because he is Chief Resident. He'll calm down."

Neal gave her a little smile and guessed, "You talked to him, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," she admitted and looked at him critically, "Hey, I'm worried about you. You need to see a doctor."

Neal chuckled ironically, "I know. I believe this a relapse of my mono, but my doc is Dr. Hughes. I'm not sure I can really go see him right now."

"Of course, you can!" Elizabeth insisted. "I'm going to call him and then I'll take you to the hospital. Your health is important."

Neal went over and put his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder. He sighed, "Thank you, Elizabeth. You're a good friend."


	7. Chapter 7

Neal had misgivings as they approached the hospital, but Elizabeth insisted that he needed to let Dr. Hughes examine him. Neal hoped he wouldn't run into Peter on the way to Hughes' office.

Hughes greeted him professionally, "Nurse Caffrey, Ms. Mitchell tells me you think your mono is recurring."

"Well, yes," Neal answered hesitantly. "I woke up this morning with a sore throat and fever and chills, and I'm feeling really achy and tired, sir."

Hughes examined him and pronounced, "You're probably right. Your lymph nodes are swollen. I want you to have some blood tests."

Neal hung his head. He said sadly, "I guess I'm not going to get to graduate, am I?"

Dr. Hughes was thoughtful for a moment and then pointed out, "Ms. Mitchell also told me that there was more to your error the other day than I was told. Would you like to fill me in?"

"Okay," Neal proceeded, "but I know it was still my fault. I accept responsibility for that."

After he explained Rebecca's role in the incident, Hughes frowned, "Hmmm, I'll have to follow up on this. Nurse Lowe was involved in another error recently. She isn't at work today, but when she comes in again, I'll talk to her."

Neal mumbled miserably, "But it was still my fault that I gave the wrong meds."

"Yes," Hughes agreed, "but the patient wasn't seriously harmed, you realize your mistake and you accept responsibility. I think you've learned your lesson. I don't see why this incident should keep you from graduating. I'll talk to Mr. Adler and Ms. Berrigan."

Neal brightened for the first time, but checked, "What about the mono though? Am I going to have to take a couple of weeks off again?"

"Probably not," reassured the senior doctor. "I need to see your blood tests, but your relapse was probably caused by all the stress. It may not last more than a few days. You are going to have to make sure you get enough rest, though. Your body needs to heal."

"Oh, thank you, sir, thank you," Neal enthused. "I will rest and I will make sure my nutrition is good. Do I need to take the antiviral drug again?"

"I'll let you know," Hughes said with a small smile. "Neal? A little advice. Stay out of trouble from now on."

"I will, I will," promised Neal. "I really will. Oh, thank you."

Hughes dismissed him, "Go get your blood drawn and then go home and go to bed."

Neal left feeling like his burden was much lighter. He vowed to do everything he could to get well and graduate on time. Suddenly, he noticed Peter coming off the elevator. He looked down and tried to be invisible. He felt his stomach lurch.

Peter came over and put a hand on his shoulder. He asked, "Neal? Are you all right? You look pale."

Neal didn't look at him as he said softly, "Dr. Hughes thinks my mono has recurred, but I'll be okay."

Peter murmured sympathetically, "Neal...."

Neal shrugged out of his grasp and informed him, "It's okay. He said I still might get to graduate."

Peter commented mildly, "Oh, well, that's good, I guess."

Neal replied dejectedly, "Yeah. Well, I'll see you around, Peter. I have to go get my blood drawn now for some tests."

Peter nodded vaguely, "Yeah, see you around, Neal."

As Neal stepped onto the elevator, he felt unbearably sad. It was obvious that Peter hadn't forgiven him. He tried to concentrate on the fact that he was still going to be able to pursue his dream of a nursing career.

When Neal came out of the lab with a bandaid on his arm where he had been stuck with the needle, he was surprised to find Peter waiting there. He said quickly, "Neal? I'm sorry. I've been a jerk. Dr. Hughes told me what happened. I should have let you explain."

Neal gave him a shy smile and demurred, "No, you were right to be upset. What I did was stupid."

"It was," Peter affirmed, "but I'm sure you will never let it happen again. You are going to make a wonderful Registered Nurse."

"You really think so?" Neal asked wistfully.

"Yeah, I do," Peter smiled. "Want me to give you a ride home? You look beat."

"I'd love it," Neal accepted. He turned to the older man and blurted, "I really missed you, Peter."

Peter threw his arm around Neal's shoulder and guided him out of the hospital while Neal grinned happily.

They entered Neal's room to find an aroma of fresh baking in the air. A plate of chocolate brownies was sitting on the table. There was a note signed by Mozzie explaining that they were for his cancer support group meeting that evening.

Neal exclaimed, "Mozz is back! I should have known he'd make sure to return in time to lead his chemo support group. He takes it very seriously. Sometimes I help him with it."

Peter looked lustfully at the brownies and wondered, "Do you think we could eat just one? They look so good."

"Oh, I think it would be okay. It looks like there are plenty," Neal offered as he grabbed one for each of them. When they finished them, they looked at each other and guiltily agreed to have another.

When he finished his second brownie, Neal discovered that Peter had removed his stethoscope from his pocket and was examining it closely. He looked at Neal and marveled, "These are such wonderful instruments, aren't they? Did you ever think about how they work? And they are such an iconic symbol of medical care."

Neal giggled, "Umm, Peter?" 

Peter tore his attention away from his stethoscope and looked seriously at Neal. He asked curiously, "What, Neal?"

Neal giggled harder and repeated, "Umm, Peter. I think we're stoned. Mozzie must have put marijuana in the brownies."

"Really?" asked Peter. "Why would he do that? I think you're right, though. Now that you mention it, I do feel high."

Neal explained, "Well, a lot of the cancer patients in his group use marijuana to relieve their chronic pain. I think they only eat one, though."

When Peter looked up again, he saw Neal staring at him with a look of adoration. He felt guilty that he had treated his lover so unsympathetically. He apologized, "Neal, I'm so sorry. I should have had more faith you. I know I let you down. I wasn't understanding at all."

Neal responded generously, "Well, I was the one who made a dangerous mistake. I know how much you care about your patients. I'm glad Jessica is going to be okay." He paused and then added quietly, "But I really missed you, Peter. I was afraid I had lost you."

Peter's eyes were moist as he took Neal into his arms and held him. He pleaded, "Will you forgive me, Neal?"

Neal's eyes twinkled as he broke their embrace. "Is that just the brownies talking? Seriously though, Peter, I wish you could have been more supportive. I don't want to feel like you're going to walk away anytime I do something wrong."

The two talked over their feelings with Peter being far more open than he usually was. He admitted that he had also been afraid that the incidents might affect his own reputation. Finally, he embraced Neal and murmured into his neck, "I missed you, too. Do you believe I love you?"

He began unbuttoning and unzipping Neal's clothing while he fervently kissed him. Once he had freed Neal's stiff erection, he loosened his own pants, too. He bent down to kiss Neal's cock, producing a whine of pleasure from Neal.

Just as they were about to move over to the bed, they heard Mozzie's familiar voice as he opened the door. He called, "Neal? I've come to get the brownies. Do you want to go to the meeting with me?"

He stopped cold as he discovered Neal and Peter hurriedly zipping up their pants and buttoning their shirts. He protested, "Neal, have a little decency, please."

Neal giggled, "Well, Mozz, this is MY apartment. I didn't know you were coming."

Mozzie took one look at Neal's sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks and Peter's dazed expression and surmised, "Oh no, you ate one one of my brownies, didn't you?"

Neal chortled, "We ate two of them. Each of us ate two of them."

"Oh no," Mozzie reacted. "Neal, I put marijuana in those brownies for the cancer patients!"

"Yeah, we know," Neal admitted. "I mean, we didn't know it when we ate them, but we know now. I mean after we ate them, we figured it out. Oh, Mozz, I'm really high."

Mozzie finally smiled as he gazed at the two of them. "Well, have a nice evening, guys. I have to take the rest of these brownies and go to my meeting. Ta ta!"

He was back out the door before Peter burst into laughter. He gasped, "Oh, I'll never live this down, will I?"

Neal grinned happily at him and suggested, "Let's get back to what we were doing before we were interrupted."


	8. Chapter 8

When Neal was able to return to work, he was more subdued than the last time. He was determined to do everything right. He met with Ms. Berrigan to go over the cases she assigned to him. At his request, she gave him little Allison and she added one new patient named Roger Barrow, who was newly diagnosed with throat cancer. She felt that would be enough for his first day back, even though Sara Ellis wished he could take on a couple more patients.

Neal knew he would want to spend time with Allison, so he went to see Mr. Barrow first. As he soon as he entered the room, Neal's eyes widened. He was sure this was the same man who had tried to steal his money at the casino at the beach and had his leg broken when he was hit by a car. A cast on the man's leg made Neal even more convinced.

Neal wished he could go get Peter, but instead he took a deep breath and approached his patient. He greeted him professionally, "How are you feeling Mr. Barrow? I'm Neal Caffrey. I'm a student nurse and I'll be taking care of you today."

Barrow narrowed his eyes and replied hoarsely, "Don't I know you from somewheres?"

Neal answered neutrally, "I'm not sure. You look familiar to me, too. We may have seen each other at the beach a few weeks ago."

Recognition dawned and Barrow gave him a sly grin. "Oh yeah. Hey, no hard feelings, huh?"

Neal smiled coolly, "No, not on my part. Now let me take your temperature and blood pressure. When you get up to shower, I will change your bed sheets."

Neal recorded Barrow's vital signs and headed for Allison Sullivan's room. He looked in and saw her lying in bed looking very pale. He caught her attention and peeked around the corner of the door a couple of times before he entered. He succeeded in making her giggle, but she quickly sobered and looked at him with sad brown eyes.

Neal asked, "What's the matter little one. Why so blue? Are you feeling sick?"

Allison pouted, "Nurse Neal, I liked you, but you lied to me last time you were here. You said you were going to take care of me that day and then you never came back. I had to have Nurse Sara instead."

Neal apologized contritely, "I know that happened, but it was because I had to go home early that day. I didn't know that was going to happen when I talked to you in the morning. I'm very sorry. Will you give me another chance?"

She persisted, "I heard you were sick, but I also heard that you made a mistake with a patient's medicine."

"Yes, both those things are true," Neal admitted, as he began to count her pulse and respirations. "I'm not sick anymore and I promise to be super careful with you. Okay?"

"I guess so," his solemn little patient hesitated. "But Neal, did you lie to me when you said your girlfriend who had leukemia didn't die?"

Neal was surprised by that question, but he answered carefully, "Well, I may not have told you the whole truth because I didn't want to worry you."

"I'd rather you tell me the truth," Allison requested. "I don't like people keeping secrets from me."

"I'll be very careful about that, sweetie," Neal promised. He was worried that she felt warm to the touch and he wanted to take her temperature, so he cajoled, "If you'll put this thermometer in your mouth and give me your arm to take your blood pressure now, I'll make you another washcloth animal."

She smiled and opened her mouth and stuck out her arm. Neal stroked her hair back from her face and encouraged, "That's a good girl."

When he finished recording her data, Neal made another washrag rabbit for her. He was concerned that her temperature was unusually high and he wanted to find out why. He gently examined her skin and felt her lymph nodes. He asked her to give him a urine sample and he checked her records to see if she needed blood tests.

While he waited for Dr. Fowler to come in, Neal gently washed the little girl and changed her gown and her sheets. He picked up her notebook and looked over her latest drawings. With her permission, he drew a new picture of a clown holding some balloons. Finally, he used some scrap paper to fold an Origami flower for her.

Neal returned to the Nurses Station and found Peter there writing on a patient's record. He explained his concern about Allison to him and Peter promised to look in on her and contact Dr. Fowler if necessary. Then Neal remembered his encounter with Roger Barrow and checked, "Um, Peter, my other patient is Mr. Barrow. Have you seen him yet?"

Peter shook his head, "No, apparently he was admitted yesterday after I left. I was just about to go see him now. Why?"

"Mind if I tag along with you?" Neal asked casually. He wanted to see what Peter's reaction would to be.

Peter nodded at Neal and sighed when he recognized the man. Barrow complained, "Hey, aren't you the guy who punched me in the face a couple of weeks ago?"

"Yeah, I guess I am," Peter admitted. "You were stealing my friend's money at the time."

"Okay, okay, so let's let bygones be bygones, doc. What d'ya say?" croaked the petty thief. "I'm here because I have cancer now."

"That's right," Peter affirmed. "I will be managing your care during your radiation therapy along with Dr. Hughes."

"And Caffrey's gonna be my nurse," cracked Barrow. "How did I get so lucky?"

After Peter examined him, Neal suggested that the patient take his shower. He used the time to make the bed and straighten up the room. As he tucked the sheet in, his hand felt something wedged under the mattress. He pulled it out and gasped as he discovered it was a stack of hundred dollar bills bound by a rubber band.

Barrow re-entered the room and exclaimed, "Hey! What are you doing with those. They're mine!"

Neal handed the bills to him and explained, "I just found them stuck under the mattress while I was tucking your sheet in. How much is that and where did all that money come from anyway?"

"It's none of your business, but I won it in a casino," Barrow claimed nervously. "How about if you just forget you saw it?"

Neal offered, "Mr. Barrow, I can put it in the hospital safe for you until you are discharged. It will be more secure there."

"No!" Barrow resisted. "I want it where I can see it and where I can get it if I need it."

Neal didn't argue with him, but he watched to see where the crook was going to hide the money now. Barrow noticed and smirked, "Don't worry, I'll find a better hiding place. You don't got to know where it is, Caffrey."

Neal raised his eyebrows and shrugged. He doubted there would be any hiding place in the hospital room that he couldn't find. He reminded, "Your radiation treatments will begin this afternoon. You may temporarily lose your voice due to swelling and irritation. I'll bring you a pad and pencil if that happens so you can communicate with notes."

He checked to be sure the man's cast wasn't causing him any problems and his foot was not swollen. He asked casually, "Why did you run out in front of that car anyway, Barrow?"

"That's none of your business, Caffrey," he grouched. "By the way, my friends call me Roger."

Neal smiled, "My friends call me Neal. I'll check on you again in a little while."

As he approached the Nurses Station, Neal saw Rebecca talking with some nurses aides and he tried to stay out of her sight. He overheard her disclosing, "Mr. Donovan is an attorney and he's trying to convince Amy Sawyer and Jessica Breslin to sue the hospital because of the medication errors that were made. I told him I don't care if he sues me because I have malpractice insurance."

She saw Neal then and noticed his uncomfortable look. She taunted, "How about you, Neal? Do you think the hospital will still let you graduate if they get sued? I bet you don't have insurance either, do you?"

Neal ignored her. He checked on Allison, but she was sleeping so he decided to go to lunch. He looked around briefly for Peter, but didn't see him. Instead, he found Elizabeth Mitchell eating alone, so he joined her.

She asked sympathetically, "What's the matter, Neal? You look kind of down. I thought you would be excited to be back at work. Is everything going all right? Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Neal assured her. "It's just that Rebecca Lowe told me that the women who received the wrong medications might be planning to sue the hospital. She said I probably wouldn't be able to graduate because of it."

"Oh, I haven't heard anything like that," Elizabeth consoled him. "I think she's exaggerating. I'm glad she's back at work, though. She's been calling in sick lately. I think she had some kind of accident."

"Really? Her sister told me she was having some problems. I'm still upset because of her part in my making the medication error. I don't like her much," admitted Neal. "Hey, remember that guy that got hit by the car and broke his leg when we were leaving the beach? Now he's here in this hospital with throat cancer."

"Oh, did you see him? Is his leg broken?" Elizabeth questioned. "What's his name?"

Neal,was about to tell her when Peter slid nto the seat next to him and admonished, "You aren't gossiping about our patients, are you?"

"Kind of," Neal confessed. "I was just telling Elizabeth that Roger Barrow is a patient here."

"Yeah, that's a weird coincidence, isn't it?" Peter speculated. "I never thought we'd see him again."

"I found a wad of money tucked under his mattress when I changed his sheets," Neal disclosed. "It's very suspicious."

"Well, you mind your own business, Neal," Peter warned. "Hopefully, he'll just have his series of radiation treatments without complications and leave."

Elizabeth smiled, "It's nice to see you two getting along again. Welcome back, Neal. I've got to get to work."

Neal added, "Sorry, Peter, I have to go, too. I want to see how Allison is doing and spend a little time with her. I'm hoping to meet her father this afternoon."

"Take good care of her, buddy, but remember not to get too emotionally involved," Peter counseled. "She is a very sick little girl."

Neal gave him a fond look and promised, "I'll try not to. Will I see you after work?"

Peter brushed his hand and said, "Come find me before you leave the hospital, okay?"

Neal headed back to Oncology floor feeling much better than he had before lunch.


	9. Chapter 9

Neal entered Allison's room cheerfully. He found the child sitting up straight and wheezing. She was pale and sweaty and Neal rushed to her side. She gasped, "Help me, Neal. I can't breathe."

He quickly scanned her medical record and discovered that an antibiotic had been ordered by Dr. Fowler and given by Rebecca while he was at lunch. He patted Allison on her back and urged, "Just breathe in and out for me, sweetie. I'm going to get help for you."

Peter was just returning to the floor and Neal grabbed him. He pleaded, "Peter, you've got to help me. It's Allison. She's in respiratory distress. I'm afraid she is having an allergic reaction to an antibiotic she was given while I was at lunch."

Peter hurried to check on her. After listening to her chest with his stethoscope, he ordered Neal, "Draw up a dose of epinephrine for me and then let's get her started on oxygen."

Neal hurried to comply and within a few minutes, Allison was breathing easier. She clung to Neal's hand and started to cry. She pleaded, "Please don't leave me, Nurse Neal."

He sat down beside her on the bed and soothed, "Sshhh, don't cry. I'm going to stay right here with you until you feel better. Just breathe slowly and rest now."

Peter frowned and noted, "It says right here in her medical record that she has had a bad reaction to that drug before. I wonder why Fowler didn't see it."

Allison informed them, "I tried to tell Nurse Rebecca that I'm allergic to antibiotics, but she wouldn't listen."

Neal squeezed her hand tightly. Peter saw how furious he looked and admonished, "Let me handle this, Neal."

Peter strode out to the Nurses Station and called Dr. Fowler. While he was waiting for him to return the call, he also called Dr. Hughes to tell him that another medication incident had occurred. Hughes responded with alarm, "Burke, we've got to do something about this! We have never had this many serious errors in such a short time. Find Dr. Fowler and I want to see you both in my office right away."

Rebecca Lowe walked up as Peter ended the call. She remarked brightly, "Problem, Dr. Burke?"

Peter's face darkened as he asked angrily, "Did you check Allison Sullivan's record before you administered that antibiotic to her? She just had a severe anaphylactic attack. It was clearly noted that she was allergic to that drug!"

Rebecca replied flippantly, "Ask Dr. Fowler. He's the one who prescribed it."

As Rebecca walked off, Garret Fowler showed up and asked, "What's up, Peter? You called me?"

Peter said tersely, "Yes, you and Nurse Lowe just about killed an innocent little girl by giving her a drug she was allergic to. That's what wrong."

"Wait a minute," Fowler protested. "Rebecca called me to ask if she could give that antibiotic because the child's lab tests indicated that she had an infection. I okayed it over the phone. I didn't realize she was allergic to it."

They looked around, but Rebecca had vanished. Fowler worried, "Is the child all right now? I take it you treated her reaction to the drug."

Peter clenched his teeth as he replied, "Yes, Allison is doing okay. Neal is with her now. Dr. Hughes wants to see both of us in his office right away."

Fowler protested, "What about Rebecca? She's the one who asked me for the order. She should have checked the record first."

"She should have, but that doesn't excuse you," Peter reminded him. "I'm sure Adler and Hughes will deal with Rebecca later. She has been involved in all of these recent medication errors."

Peter found Head Nurse Sara Ellis and filled her in on what happened. He asked her to suspend Rebecca Lowe from duty until they could investigate the incident. Sara responded reluctantly, "I understand your concern, but I simply cannot get by without her right now. I will talk with her and I will make sure she stays away from Allison."

"Make sure she stays away from Neal, too," advised Peter. "He's pretty upset by this incident."

Neal was soothing Allison and rechecking her vital signs when her father Dan Sullivan hurried into the room. He demanded, "What happened here? Allison honey, are you all right?"

Allison cried, "Daddy!" and threw her little arms around his neck. "It's not Neal's fault. Nurse Rebecca gave me an antibiotic that I was allergic to and I couldn't breathe. Neal and Dr. Burke saved me."

Dan appraised Neal and said grudgingly, "Well, thank you for that, but how was she given that drug? I told them all her allergies when she was admitted. I can't believe Dr. Fowler prescribed that for her!"

Neal suggested quietly, "Allison needs to rest now. Do you think you and I could step out into the hall to discuss this?"

The fond father stroked his little girl's hair and realized how tired she was. He agreed, "Okay. Allison, just rest. Your nurse and I will be right outside your room. Then I'll come back in and sit by you while you sleep."

Neal smiled softly, "She's such a sweet kid. I can't tell you how upset I am that this happened. Allison is supposed to be my patient today, but while I was at lunch, she was given the antibiotic. As soon as I discovered her distress, I called Dr. Peter Burke and he treated her with epinephrine and oxygen. She should be fine now."

"But how can such a terrible mistake be made? What's going to be done about it?" anguished Dan.

"Dr. Burke and Dr. Fowler are upstairs right now discussing the incident with Dr. Hughes, the Medical Director of the Oncology Service," Neal informed him. "I'm sure steps will be taken to prevent anything like this from happening again. I know they will want to talk you."

The distressed father broke down and sobbed, "You don't understand. She's been through so much. She's everything to me, but I can't stay here with her all the time. I'm about to lose my job as it is and I can't keep up with all the medical bills, but I would do anything for her."

Neal patted his shoulder and reassured, "This was not your fault, Mr. Sullivan, Dan. You shouldn't have to worry about something like this happening."

"Nurse, tell me the truth," Dan pleaded desperately. "Is Allison going to survive this disease? She doesn't seem to be getting better despite all the treatment she's getting. I'm so worried."

Neal swallowed hard and answered, "I know how you feel. My girlfriend died of leukemia, but I believe Allison has every chance of getting well. She had signs of an infection this morning that made her feel worse and that's why Dr. Fowler prescribed the antibiotic."

"But the reaction to the drug could have killed her," Dan observed bitterly. "Isn't there something they can give her that she isn't allergic to?"

"I'm sure there is," Neal consoled. "Why don't you ask Dr. Hughes to give you a second opinion about the treatment she is receiving? He is a very experienced well respected expert."

"Isn't Dr. Fowler a good doctor?" questioned Dan. "I thought he was an oncologist, too."

"He is," Neal agreed, "but it never hurts to get another opinion. Allison's case is complicated by this infection."

"Okay, thanks," Dan concluded. "I'd better get back in there with her now. I don't like for her to be alone."

Neal accompanied him into the room where Allison was sleeping like a little angel. He finished recording her vital signs, straightened her sheets and tucked a blanket around her. He was worried that she had a fever and her pulse and respiration were elevated. He knew she was still a very sick little girl.

When he went out to the Nurses Station, Sara grabbed him and pleaded, "Neal, can you please take more patients tomorrow? I'll clear it with Ms. Berrigan, but I need to suspend Rebecca from duty and I don't have enough nurses to cover everyone."

Neal assured, "Of course I can, but I still want to be assigned to Allison. She's scared and she responds well to me."

Sara started to agree when they were distracted by a scream coming from Roger Barrow's room. They both rushed in that direction. They found Barrow holding Rebecca with his hands around her neck. He was demanding threateningly, "Give it to me, bitch. Give me my money back!"

Neal stepped up and commanded, "Let her go, Barrow! We'll get your money back for you."

Rebecca protested, "B-but I didn't take it! I don't have it. He's crazy! Help me!"

Sara asked sharply, "What are you doing in his room, Rebecca? This patient is not assigned to you."

Rebecca squeaked, "I-I was trying to help Neal. Mr. Barrow just came back from radiation therapy and he needed to have ointment applied to his throat. Neal was busy with Allison, so I thought I could do it but he grabbed me and accused me of stealing his money!"

Neal hesitated, unsure who to believe. He ordered again, "Take your hands off of her, Roger!"

Barrow shoved Rebecca away from him and advanced on Neal with a knife, accusing, "Maybe you're the one who took it, Neal Caffrey. You knew I had it. Did you find where I hid it?"

Neal denied vehemently, "Of course not. I told you this morning that you should let me put it in the hospital safe."

A crowd was gathering in the hall behind them. Barrow sprang toward Neal and then fell back as a shot rang out. Stunned, Neal turned around and saw Luke Donovan standing there with a handgun. Neal quickly turned back and ran to Roger Barrow who was bleeding from his chest where he had been shot.

Neal shouted to Sara, "Get a surgeon in here right away! And call Peter. I can't stop his bleeding."

Barrow wheezed, "Get away from me. Somebody shot me! Who shot me?"

Neal tried to prop the patient up so he could breathe better, but it was no use. Barrow was rapidly losing consciousness. Neal saw Rebecca slithering out of the room and called out, "Somebody stop her. Sara, call security to detain Rebecca and Mr. Donovan."

Peter rushed into the room followed closely by Dr. Hughes and surgeon Curtis Hagen. They pushed Neal aside and quickly assessed the gunshot wound. Dr. Hagen ordered, "I need this man transported to the OR stat!"

Neal stepped out of the room to allow a stretcher to be brought in. He suddenly felt light headed. A firm hand on his shoulder guided him to a chair. He looked up and saw Mozzie gazing at him sympathetically. He insisted, "Come on, Neal. Sit down and take it easy."

Sara came over and exclaimed, "You were very brave in there, Neal! Can you please tell me what this was all about?"

Neal nodded as he watched Peter and Dr. Hagen pushing the stretcher with Barrow on it toward the elevator and a couple of security guards following them with Rebecca and Luke Donovan in custody.

He felt the room swirling around him until Mozzie pushed his head down onto his knees and instructed, "Breathe, Neal. Take some deep breaths."


	10. Chapter 10

Neal took some deep breaths and steadied himself. His first thought was to check on Allison Sullivan and her father Dan. He wasn't surprised to find Dan dressing Allison and demanding to have her IV taken out so they could leave. He explained adamantly, "I'm not allowing my daughter to stay here any longer. It's too dangerous!"

Neal nodded and asked, "Dan, would you stay here for a just another couple of minutes? There is something I need to take care of."

He slipped down the hall and sneaked back into Roger Barrow's room. He found the stack of hundred dollar bills on the floor under the bed where he had glimpsed it during the struggle. He had no idea whether it was Roger or Rebecca who had dropped the bundle of bills, but he quietly retrieved the money and slipped it into his pocket.

When he returned to Allison's room, Neal smiled reassuringly, "Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?" 

Allison replied seriously, "Not very good, Neal. I think I still have a fever. I'm hot and tired and my head hurts."

Neal nodded and looked at Dan as he asked Allison, "You still want to get well, don't you? Do you trust me, sweetie?"

She nodded and requested, "Will you please make me another animal from a washcloth?"

Neal grinned and twisted one of the cloths into a swan for her. He addressed Dan, "Allison still needs treatment in the hospital right now. Please let Dr. Hughes examine her and see what he can suggest. I know it's been crazy around here, but the criminals have been caught and removed from the floor now."

As Dan eyed him warily, Neal winked and withdrew the wad of money from his pocket and handed it to Dan. He offered, "I found this and I'd like to give it to you for a contribution for Allison's hospital bills. It doesn't belong to anyone else. It should go to a good cause. I can't think of a better one than Allison."

Dan tentatively took the money and thumbed it. He gasped, "Why, there are thousands of dollars here! I can't take this."

"Sure you can," Neal encouraged. "We'll just let it be our little secret. I promise, no one else will claim this money, and you need it. It's time you and Allison had a little good luck for a change."

Dan pocketed the money hesitantly, stammering, "W-well, that's true, I guess. Th-thank you. I will wait for Dr. Hughes to see Allison. Do you really think he can help her?"

Neal gave him an enthusiastic smile, "I really think we should find out! I'll go and get him now - as soon as we make this little one comfortable back in her bed."

Neal found Medical Director Hughes still at the Nurses Station discussing the events of the afternoon with Head Nurse Sara Ellis and Kyle Bancroft, Head of Hospital Security. They were waiting for the police to come and Sara had called her boyfriend FBI Agent David Siegel, too.

Bancroft explained, "Rebecca Lowe and Luke Donovan are temporarily being held downstairs in Adminstrator Adler's office. They didn't put up any struggle." 

Dr. Hughes insisted, "I don't want Nurse Rebecca Lowe back in this hospital! Mr. Donovan is a different case since he is still a patient here. Didn't anyone know he had a gun?"

Neal broke in, "Um, Dr. Hughes, could I please talk to you for a minute? It's about Allison Sullivan, the little girl with leukemia. Her father would like you to consult on her case."

Hughes scowled, "Isn't she Garrett Fowler's patient, Caffrey? Why should I get involved?"

Neal explained, "Since her allergic reaction to the antibiotic that Dr. Fowler prescribed, she and her father are feeling scared. After they heard the gunfire, he panicked and is ready to remove her from the hospital."

"Well, I guess I can understand that," conceded Hughes. "Okay, Neal, I'll look in on her."

"Thank you, sir," Neal responded respectfully. "How is Mr. Barrow? Could Dr. Hagen save him in surgery?"

Peter walked up looking ashen and supplied, "I can answer that. I'm afraid not. The bullet went right through his heart. Mr. Donovan is being held responsible for killing him. He claims he was protecting your life, Neal."

Neal sighed, "Yeah, I guess he was, but I don't think he had to kill him."

Neal's instructor Ms. Berrigan joined the group and Reese Hughes asked for her assistance in helping to prevent any further medication errors on the Oncology floor. She turned and addressed Neal, "How would you like to prepare an Inservice education program to make up for some of the time you missed during your illness? Do you know what the Five R's are, Neal?"

"Yes, Ms. Berrigan. _The Five Rights: the Right patient, the Right drug, the Right dose, the Right route, and the Right time._ I would be glad to give an Inservice presentation," Neal agreed cooperatively. "I'll start working on it right away."

Peter smiled at him proudly. Diana approved, "I can tell you have been studying."

David Siegel arrived and they filled him in on the events. He noted, "This sounds like a case for the local police to handle. I don't think there is any reason for the FBI to get involved."

Neal thought guiltily of the money he had found, but he kept silent. He felt strongly that giving it to Dan Sullivan was the right thing to do.

Later, Mozzie and Elizabeth joined Peter and Neal for a drink in the bar across the street from the hospital. Mozzie volunteered, "Well, I guess this will put a stop to Mr. Barrow trying to convince Amy Sawyer and Jessica Breslin to sue the hospital."

Elizabeth confirmed, "Yes, Vincent Adler is very relieved about that. The hospital is really looking bad right now with all the errors and the shooting."

Peter confirmed, "Well, they fired Rebecca Lowe. That should help. She was right in the middle of all of this."

"Yes, but her sister Rachel Turner is still working night shifts in Pediatrics," pointed out Elizabeth.

Mozzie wondered, "What do you suppose happened to the money that Roger Barrow accused Rebecca of stealing from him.?"

"I don't know, but it's such a weird coincidence that we saw him survive getting hit by a car at the beach a couple of weeks ago and then he ended up dying here in the hospital," Elizabeth commented. "I guess we'll never really know where that money came from."

Neal was unusually quiet throughout their discussion, content to listen to the others while he sipped a glass of wine. The only thing he added was, "I'm so glad Dr. Hughes agreed to see Allison. He has already prescribed an antibiotic for her that she is not allergic to and he is reviewing her chemo regimen to see if there is anything they can add."

When they were finally at home alone, Peter asked suspiciously, "Neal, you know what happened to Mr. Barrow's money, don't you?"

Neal nodded solemnly but still remained silent. Peter sighed, "Would I rather not know what happened to it?"

Neal nodded again. Peter went over and wrapped his arms around his lover. He admitted quietly, "I think I might know."

Neal stretched up for a luxurious kiss. He was exhausted by all the emotional turmoil of the day so Peter practically dragged him to bed and undressed him. He cuddled him close and whispered, "You are a wonderful man, Neal Caffrey. I'm very proud of you."

Neal sleepily mumbled, "Love you too, Peter."

**Author's Note:**

> The White Collar characters were created by Jeff Eastin for the series on USA TV. All of the characters in this series were named for people that appeared in some episodes of the show.


End file.
